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Mosquitoes are a family of midge-like flies predominantly known for their diet of blood from living vertebrates. While most are generally harmless, their blood diet makes some of them transmitters of harmful diseases, including yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria.

The lifecycle of the mosquito consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa and imago. Of these four stages, the first three live in water. Typically the change from egg to adult will take between 5 and 14 days. The female mosquito will usually fly above a body of water dipping her abdomen into the water depositing eggs. Some species attach their eggs to waterborne plants, while others lay their eggs together in raft-like constructions.

The bodies of water used for laying eggs vary greatly, with tree hollows, leaves, puddles, water-filled debris, lakes and even salt water being used. Some species specialize in single-plant relationships, such as the harmless Wyeomyia smithii breeding exclusively in the bowls of the purple pitcher plant. the se mosquitoes feed on insects trapped in the plant's waters.